What can Operation Groundswell offer that other trips can't?

  • Price:
    • Operation Groundswell offers some of the best-priced trips around. Don't believe us? See for yourself.

West Africa/Southeast Asia

Organization Length of Trip
Cost (excluding flight)
i-to-i
             2 months                  
 $3,245 
 Projects Abroad
            2 months                 
 $3,345 
Cross-Cultural Solutions
            2 months                 
$4,370
Operation Groundswell
   7 weeks     $1,750

Middle East

Organization
 Length of Trip Cost (excluding flight) 
Affiliation 
Christian Believers United          12 days            $2,799  Christian
Passport to Israel  3 weeks
$3,835
 Jewish
Noar Hadash  4 weeks
$4,800 Jewish 
    Operation Groundswell
 4 weeks
$2,000 Non-denominational 


  • Real Experiences:
    • Operation Groundswell is not a guided tour or a vacation. Our trips are intentionally designed to uncover the intricacies and on-the-ground realities of the common experience in each region. Participants eat local food, use local transport and survive each day as a temporary local. While we move generally as a group, participants are encouraged to heed the backpackers mentality explore as much as possible in small groups or by themselves, with the permission of trip organizers of course.

  • Projects:
    • Operation Groundswell trips focus around the core concepts of education and engagement. There are two types of projects on each trip:
        1. Group Project: Utilizing the collective energy of the group, our group projects focus on the needs of our partners and emerge from the requests of local communities. Last year's West Africa trip project involved running HIV/AIDS education workshops for over 1000 local students and assisting with an orphanage construction. For trip specific group project information, please visit the individual trip pages.
        2. Personal Project: Along with the group project, each participant will be urged to connect with locals throughout their experience. Participants have fixed computer labs, painted murals and benches, fixed wheelchairs, organized libraries and taught soccer. While it is impossible to foresee the  true needs of locals before departing, all participants will be asked to initiate a project to create a lasting change while on the program.

  • Independence:

              As trip leaders, our goal is to facilitate the experience not manufacture it.

    • Operation Groundswell trips have a block of time called Independent Travel Time (ITT) near the end of each program. Averaging between ten days to two weeks, this time allows participants to explore and engage in a more personal way. We encourage participants to set out in small groups for this time, but some may choose to go it alone. Trip organizers will provide all participants with a personalized guide of places to see and contacts to utilize. It is important to understand: During this time, participants are not under the auspices of the organized program and are entirely responsible for themselves. Participants are given the emergency contact number of trip organizers during ITT for any advice or safety concerns. After ITT, the entire group reconvenes for a trip summary known as the 'Disorientation' prior to flying home.